O'Hare coping with new security

Stringent new federal security rules soon will create another round of travel disruptions at O'Hare International Airport.

Check-in lines have been diminishing, despite stepped-up security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the holiday travel season is expected to run even smoother than Thanksgiving did. Northwest Airlines now advises passengers to check in 75 minutes before a flight, instead of two hours, and United Airlines may soon follow suit, according to a spokesman.

But come Jan. 18, when a new federal aviation security law starts to take effect, O'Hare is likely to see longer lines, more lost luggage and many more frustrated travelers.

As of that date, all luggage loaded onto a plane has to be inspected for explosives by hand, by dog or by machine, or it has to be positively matched with a passenger on board that plane. Currently, only about 4% of bags are run through explosive-detection devices nationwide, and positive bag-matching is required only on international flights.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta has vowed to enforce the rule, after running into a firestorm of congressional criticism when he suggested last month--only a few days after the new law's enactment--that there are not enough machines or trained dogs available to make the deadline stick.

That means the department will rely heavily on bag-matching. At O'Hare, the triple-whammy of huge passenger volumes, weather delays and a large number of connecting flights will combine to create a mountain of marooned bags and more delays if every bag has to be inspected or matched to a passenger on a plane.

"It will be a nightmare for the first couple of weeks," said James Clark, managing partner at Cleveland-based Alderson Clark Ltd. Security Consultants. "It will create a whole lot of problems."

Complete coverage of this story appears in the Dec. 10 issue of Crain's.